I’ve been going on trade missions with Laval businesses for the past two years. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that all too often companies either don’t follow up or do so too late. This means that the efforts made before and during the mission to identify the best potential customers will go largely unrewarded.
Here are a few tips to help you plan your follow-up.
Before leaving:
Set clear objectives about what you’re looking for in this market;
Do your homework on this market so you can ask pertinent questions;
Determine what information could be useful for you or a member of your organization;
Write this information down in an easy-to-refer format for your meetings;
Prepare a follow-up plan;
Plan free time during your stay for unscheduled meetings.
During the event:
Invite the most promising prospects to a second meeting or a business meal;
Take notes during and after each meeting;
Decide on the follow-up to do with potential customers using the document you prepared before leaving.
After the event:
Analyze all the data you collected, enter relevant information in your customer database, and do everything set out in your follow-up plan:
If you won’t be doing the follow-up yourself, send the necessary information to the person who will;
Within a week, send a personalized e-mail to all your prospects explaining the next step you will be taking;
Set a post follow-up schedule;
Within two weeks, prepare a summary of the event for your team, determine the benefits, and make recommendations regarding another mission;
Periodically review your event summary (ideally every six months) to make sure that everything is being done to achieve your objectives.
Lastly, feel free to contact us. We can help your prepare your business trips abroad to maximize your chances of success.
Caroline Bouchard
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